Furlan Marri Goes Automatic For Sophomore Release In All-New 2116-A

Last year, a small brand by the name of Furlan Marri stormed the watch enthusiast world with their initial release, a meca-quartz chronograph with spot on callbacks to some of the all-time great Patek references that was priced under $600. The watch was immediately embraced by collectors and enthusiasts across the spectrum, and even went on to bag an award at the illustrious GPHG. Today, Furlan Marri open the next chapter with their follow up release, the 2116-A, an automatic affair that once again nails the details of its iconic sources of inspiration, and does it at a price approachable by mere mortals. 

The 2116-A is an amalgam of some of the great design details we’ve seen on watches over the past century. These are subtle, sometimes tricky details to balance against one another, but Furlan Marri has done it in a way that feels natural and organic. The resulting watch is one that looks a bit familiar, but also entirely unique. If you enjoyed what they did with the chronograph last year, you’ll undoubtedly find a lot to love here. A quick survey reveals horned lugs, a sector dial, and Breguet numerals all brought together wonderfully.

Horned, or tear drop lugs are a design cue we’ve seen used sparingly by brands both new and old to dramatic effect. As presented on the 2116-A, they fall somewhere between something like a Patek reference 1461 and a Vacheron Constantin Historiques Triple Calendrier 1942, which is definitely not a bad thing. I’d call them relatively neutral as far as these things go, and their combination of polished and brushed surfaces add some dimension to their presence without resorting to a rounded horn at the tip. It’s ornate, but not over the top in a way that distracts from the rest of the watch. Well, most of the time. They are very pretty and if you catch them at the right angle, you may end up staring at them over getting a read on the time. 

The lugs themselves aren’t welded to the case, but rather affixed via “bridge visible at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock” presumably with the caseback removed. They are attached after finishing operations, and while this means a seam is visible between lug and case, from nearly every angle they appear to simply be an extension of the case itself. According to Furlan Marri, this transition will be tightened up on production models compared to what you see in the images here.

Like the case, the dial combines some of our favorite formal wear traits with ease. A chapter ring for the minutes resides at the furthest reaches of the dial, while an inner ring retains the hour markers (as well as redundant minute markers). This inner realm holds applied Breguet numerals at the cardinal positions, which are fully polished and standing tall. A set of polished leaf hands operate without a hint of lume to be found. The central, sector portion of the dial gets the Furlan Marri signage, and no, there’s not a date window in sight. The polished hands and numerals can get lost depending on your surroundings, particularly in the midst of darker surroundings, causing some mild legibility issues, but the execution is so focused that you kind of forgive it. This is a seriously pretty dial, people. 

On the wrist, the 2116-A is sublime. The steel case measures 37.5mm in diameter and 46mm from lug to lug. The sapphire crystal is slightly domed, pushing the total thickness to 10.5mm. The lug shape help tuck the case tightly to the wrist, as they dip about millimeter below the baseline of the caseback. The crown is large, but thin, jiving with the overall throwback vibe of the rest of the watch. 

Inside, Furlan Marri is using a La Joux-Perret automatic movement, their first time going the mechanical route. It uses a custom-engraved tungsten rotor that’s been palladium coated, though you’ll have to remove the solid steel caseback to see it. Likewise, the inner portion of the caseback and case has been finished with circular brushing.

The Furlan Marri 2116-A will be priced at CHF1,250, which is about $1,250 at the time of this writing. It will come with a black leather strap with curved spring bar that fills the space between the lugs, as well as a light brown unit with a straight spring bar. There are two holes in the inside of the lugs for each strap, so you can dial in the look as you see fit. 

The black dial seen here will be the inaugural dial color for this reference, and will not be produced again after this production run, however there will be three additional colorways coming later this year that will be permanent parts of the collection. This first 2116-A will be available to order for a 10 day window beginning June 24th. All orders taken in this window will be produced. Furlan Marri.